Annemarie, the main character, is brave, quick-thinking, and clever.

Annemarie demonstrates how brave and quick-thinking she is when she encounters Nazi soldiers and their dogs on the path to the sea in the early morning hours.  She is carrying a basket full of food.  It also has a secret package, which would be dangerous if taken by the soldiers.  Though Annemarie could have been frozen in fear, she instead speaks bravely to the soldiers.  She is also quick-thinking in that she decides to act like a naive little girl, just as her sister acted.  She laughs and even cries to distract the soldiers from searching her basket.  

Annemarie is also clever.  When her father is on the phone with her Uncle Henrik, she listens to their conversation and finds it strange.  Her father mentions sending cigarettes to Uncle Henrik, though none are available in Copenhagen.  She thinks that it is "almost as if he were speaking in code."  Then she realizes that he is talking about Ellen.